Cramer said that while the Zipcar deal is good for the rental car industry overall, he'd double down on Hertz, which remains the player with the most potential upside in the coming year. Hurricane Sandy disrupted much of the auto market in the Northeast, which will bode well for all of the rental car companies.

Looking at the bigger picture, Cramer said the Zipcar deal makes him also want to take a second look at other companies that came public in last year's much-hated IPO market. He said those companies with strong earnings may be attractive targets for acquirers if their share prices remain low going into 2013.

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